Discussion

Quick suggestions on list of Barc. tapas and restaurants?

Based on your suggestions and threads - some pasted here - I have found a list of moderately priced restaurants and tapas.

Please let me know if you have any serious reservations about these places. Mainly, I am interested in your tapas suggestions because I need to narrow these down.

LAS RAMBLAS AREA –

Bar Pinocchio: “in the La Boqueria market, just off Las Ramblas, is a gem of a place for good and freshly cooked tapas and refreshing cavas amidst the very colorful fruit, meat and vegetable stalls.” Any place in the Boqueria market is recommended, particularly El Quim de la Boqueria and Bar Pinocchio. Taktika Berri (València 169) is also supposed to be good and less crowded than Bar Pinocchio.

PARALLEL neighborhood, southeast of Las Ramblas“Some of the absolute best tapas in BCN are at Quimet y Quimet. 25 Poeta Cabanyes and is truly a hole in the wall. Three bar stools and three high rise cocktail tables to stand at. If there is a wait, be patient and you shall be rewarded.” A lot of the tapas here is made from high quality canned foods.

AREA?Bar Jaica - Carrer de Ginebra: “It has a long bar with a few table indoors and several outdoor tables. Usually it is very crowded and spills into the street. It is on a small street off of the main street in Barceloneta. It is a tapas bar so lots of fried fish, croquettes, calamari, etc. Very smoky. Local but younger, 30ish crowd.”

AREA and PRICE? Paco Merlago – "modern tapas bar with a great seafood counter (order the tallines = wedge clams, zamburinas = sweet small scallops and pepitos de ternera = veal sliders)." Considered to be one of the “best” by Chowhounders. OPEN SUNDAY!

Senyor Parellada (Carrer Argenteria 37, Tel 933105094) “is “simple, traditional and good, with a lengthy menu. It's very popular so try to reserve or show up at 8:25 for the dinner opening at 8:30. Open for lunch too. [On the same street, Carrer Argenteria, the main street in El Born, there are several good restaurants and tapas bars. You can't go wrong with any of them]” 8 euro – 15 euro entrees

Santa Maria – highly recommended on this site and El Borne - C/Comerç, 1736 euro tasting menu. “the chef worked both in el bulli and in japan, he created a combination of excellent twisted tapas and sushi.”

While places like Pinochio and El Quim are wonderful both in terms of the food and ambiance (ie. eating inside the Boqueria is super fun), be careful if you are concerned with cost. Eating tapas in Barcelona, especially when it involves seafood, can get pricey. We went to Pinochio for a quick tapas yesterday. We had a beer, sparkling water, a plate of navajas (razor clams) and a cod salad and the total bill was 26 euros. Ok, that's not crazy for really good seafood but you can see how if you wanted to make a meal out of it, it could easily go over 70 euros for a few more plates.

Quimet y Quimet is the same. Hole in the wall, yes. But not cheap, if you want to make it a full meal. It would easily be over 40 euros per person not including drinks if you are not careful.

Don't know what if expense is a concern but I just wanted to throw that out.

I agree with the above post that eating tapas in Barcelona can be expensive. A small plate of razor clams or baby squids can be 7-8E, a small serving of cooked beans or vegetables al a plancha 4E. The Basque pinxtos places are much more reasonable but everything is on a small piece of bread or on toothpicks. Most are 1 to 1.50E per piece. The selections can be large but remember that everything must be on bread or picks, therefore, no small casseroles or bigger pieces of seafood or meat. A few comments on your lists.In the El Born area:Senyor Parellada is the best bet for a reasonable full meal. Large, lively, modern with decent to good traditional Catalan food. Reserve for the main downstair dining room. Upstair is bland and away from the action.La Paradeta is a no-frilled seafood place. Pick your items, tell them how you want it cooked then pick up the sauces and drinks and pay. They will deliver the food. It will be more than 20E, maybe around 30. I don't think they take reservations so go early before the seafood selections gets depleted. Difficult to find as it is in the otherside of the "forever refurbishing" Mercato El Born.There are many good tapas and pinxtos places in the Born area: for good pinxtos: Sagardi is large and lively that spills out to a pleasant square; Euskal Etxea in the Basque Cultural Center; Little Bestiari (next to the restaurant, Bestiari) has excellent and eclectic tapas; Le Vinya del Senyor with outside seating in front of the Santa Maria del Mar, is a great wine bar with a good small selection of tapas; El Xampanyet is very popular cava bar with decent tapas. Santa Maria is more expensive with a eclectic selection of tapas. I order a la carte rather than the tasting menu because I found the food to be inconsistent with some plates overly seasoned and out of balance. Budo has wonderful but expensive designer desserts, worth a look.Taktika Berri is an terrific pinxtos place up in the Eixample and is NO way similar the tapas Bar Pinocchio in the Boqueria. It is a traditional Basque place, pinxto counter in the front with a dining room in the back serving large plate of food. Also keep in mind that the Boqueria closes around 7pm.Paca Meralgo is just further up in the Eixample from Takitka Berri. Great tapas, especially the seafood and the baby lamb. Very good desserts. Seat in the counter to see the waiters and cooks in action. There is table seating and a non smoking section.Quimet y Quimet is in a little bit out of the way in Poblet Sec. It is classic tapas bar: small, stand up only with a very good wine list. It is always "packed" with locals. They do not have a cooking kitchen, therefore, all products are from cans which is not a put down as Spain produces some of the best canned tuna, clams, seafood, etc. Also a good selection of cured meats and cheese. Don't expect anything hot or a quiet leisurely evening.If one is doing a tapas/pinxtos crawl, I would do one evening in El Born. Another evening up in the Eixample which might include, Tapac24, Cevereria Catalana, Takika Berri, Alona Berri and Paco Meralgo. Just share a few plates at each and move on.

Goliard is excellent! Perhaps the most affordable "new" Catalan places in the city. It is really off the beaten track--you have to meander through several small streets in Gracia--but well worth the trip.